Bajrang Dal worker’s home attacked by an Islamist mob in Pune during Ganesh Visarjan

Case ID : ce94d85 | Location : Pune, Maharashtra, India | Date of Incident : Thu, 28 September, 2023

Case ID : ce94d85

Pune, Maharashtra, India

28 September, 2023

Bajrang Dal worker’s home attacked by an Islamist mob in Pune during Ganesh Visarjan

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim

Attacked for supporting/being part of perceived Hindu party/org or working for Hindu community

Case Summary

On Friday, 29th of September, the house of one of the Bajrang Dal workers was attacked by a mob of Islamists in Pune city of Maharashtra. The victim Hindu worker was identified as Suraj Chakradhar. The Islamists attacked the victim’s house and also abused the female members of the house. The crowd attacked Suraj for allegedly stopping Maulana’s car during Ganpati Visarjan. Suraj, on the other hand, had videotaped the incident in which everyone gave way to the vehicle that belonged to the Maulana. Suraj told OpIndia that he was the target of extremists because he has been vocal about cow protection and against love jihad. This case comes from the Manchar police station region of Pune’s Ambegaon region. Suraj’s mother filed a police report on Monday, 2nd October, 2023. According to the complaint, a gathering of 150 to 200 Muslims gathered at his residence on 29th September. The enraged crowd had arrived at Suraj Chakradhar’s residence but Suraj, by chance, was not at home. As they couldn’t find Suraj, the mob started messing with the women present in his house. Suraj’s mother reported that during the incident, a Muslim mob threw stones at their house. They smashed the doors and abused the women in the house. Additionally, the mob inquired as to whether Suraj was associated with Bajrang Dal. Suraj’s mother has also named a few people from the crowd. The accused whose names have been mentioned in the complaint copy are – Riyaz Jamadar, Israr Shahbaz Khan Pathan, Azam Momin, Qayyum Pathan, Meeran Anees Inamdar, Aaqib Rehman Attar, Aman Rehman Attar, Mohammad Sartaj Ali Jamadar, Tarbez Mukhtar Qureshi, Danish Siraj Momin, Tauqeer Mohammad Matin Jamadar, Adnan Mohammad, and Javed Shaikh. The complaint additionally mentioned Mohammad Sabir Rizwan Ali Syed, Irfan Tahjan Mandal, Azhar Siraj Momin, Atiq Wasim Inamdar, Uzef Wasim Inamdar, Asif Khan, Zia Ahmed Imtiaz Jamadar, Rehan Rizwan Inamdar, Shahbaz Ali Inamdar, Saqlain Sarfaraz Inamdar, Mohammad Fazal Shaikh. Suraj’s mother stated in the complaint that a Ganpati immersion procession was taking place outside their house at around 11:50 PM the day before the incident, on September 28. Eventually, several people tried to crush the crowd by ramming a four-wheeler through the middle of the procession. The Hindu procession participants, on the other hand, gave way to the Muslim vehicle without a struggle or disagreement. Regardless, after a while, members of the Muslim community assembled at the police station to file a complaint against those involved in the Ganesh Visarjan Yatra. OpIndia has a video in which Hindu organisations freely give way to the vehicle of the Muslim community. Suraj’s mother has requested police protection, claiming that her entire family faces a threat. In addition, after reviewing the CCTV and video of the incident, she expressed hope that harsh action would be taken against all of the perpetrators. Suraj, the Bajrang Dal worker, was approached by OpIndia seeking information on this case. Suraj stated that his home is in a Muslim-dominated area. He stated that he has long been a target of Islamists due to his views on matters such as love jihad and cow slaughter. Suraj told Opindia that he had gone to get medicines for his ill mother during the attack. He said that if he had been discovered at home, a crowd of Muslims would have undoubtedly attacked him because the attackers were shouting slogans about his murder. According to Suraj, many outsiders were included in the crowd coming to his house.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This particular case has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under two subcategories of the prime category 'Attack not resulting in death' because of the various distinct components that demonstrate the perpetrator's bias against the Hindu faith and their deliberate attempt to harm the Hindus. The first sub-category under 'Attack not resulting in death' relevant in this case is 'Attacked for opposing radicals/or trying to save victim from radicals' In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. The second sub-category relevant here is 'Attacked for supporting/being part of perceived Hindu party/org or working for Hindu community' In several cases, Hindus are attacked specifically or tangentially for their association with parties or organisations perceived to be pro-Hindu and/or for working in favour of the Hindu community. One of the classic cases was the attack against a Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha (BJYM) worker Praveen Nettaru. Nettaru was attacked and hacked to death for his association with Hindu organizations and his work for the Hindu community. He was murdered by PFI, a terror organization which aimed to commit a genocide of Hindus, target Hindu leaders specifically and turn India into an Islamic Nation. In such cases, it is possible that the immediate trigger for the violence is non-religious – either according to the perpetrator or the police. However, there are surrounding circumstances from which the conclusion can be reached that the victim was attacked for his association with a Hindu organization. In a similar case, Rinku Sharma was attacked by radicals. He was a member of Bajrang Dal and regularly worked for the Hindu community. While the police cited a different non-religious trigger for the attack, it is true that he was associated to a Hindu organization and the family of Rinku Sharma specifically attributed his gruesome murder to him working for Bajrang Dal and raising Jai Shree Ram slogans. Such cases are intrinsically driven by religious hate and would therefore be documented as a hate crime under this category. In this instance, the Bajrang Dal volunteer was attacked by Islamists for raising his voice against incidents of Love Jihad, cow slaughtering and atrocities and assaults on the Hindu community. This became the trigger for the attack on him by Islamists. Notably, the Hindu victim himself testified that he was attacked because he disapproved of crimes against his own people that were motivated by their religion. Due to the perpetrator's obvious contempt for the victim's faith, this case qualifies for documentation under this hate tracker. It is important to note that the victim's mother further stated that the Muslim mob had inquired as to whether her son was associated with Bajrang Dal. Bajrang Dal is the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) youth wing, which is affiliated with the RSS. These organisations are involved in activities promoting Hindu culture and values and the volunteers of these organisations work as defenders and promoters of Hindu identity and interests. An attack on these volunteers is symbolically seen as an attack on the broader Hindu community and is rooted in religious bias or hatred against Hindus and for this reason, this case has been included in the tracker.